How To Fix the New York Mets in a Few Easy Steps

This isn’t going to be a particularly enjoyable column for me to write.

For a second-straight year, I’ve watched the New York Mets come “oh-so-close” to a playoff berth, while gagging on the 162nd game of the season to a team full of cocky misfits that take pride on giving the Mets their best effort, but apparently no one else. I’m speaking of “The Team with Few fans”: the Florida Marlins.

But I digress.

The Mets blew another shot to go to the postseason, not because of their insanely inefficient bullpen (which, if had performed even decently, would have handed the Mets the division weeks ago and saved me many trips back-and-forth to the liquor cabinet), but because of their inconsistent offense, an offense which fostered a trend of scoring early and putting the car in cruise control after their first at-bats.

This “inability to tack on runs,” compounded with a bullpen that had a propensity to throw meatballs during these close contests, lead to far too many losses and plenty of flustered, confused, and angry fans. This is not how fans and the front office wanted to close Shea Stadium. Sucks for us.

For a team with this much talent and such high expectations, this late-season mediocrity is astonishing. But maybe we should put it in perspective: As badly as the Mets played at the end of the season, at least they weren’t the Detroit Tigers.

Also, imagine if the Brewers had managed to get swept by Chicago to end the season. Their collapse would have been FAR worse than the Mets’. After all, they had the wild card seemingly wrapped up weeks ago and hadn’t made the postseason since 1982.

One could also argue that their '07 collapse rivaled that of the Mets. But they play in Packers and Badgers country, right? I always assumed that people in southern Wisconsin were all Cubs fans anyways. Perhaps I'm wrong.

Anyways, I have a number of routes that I believe the Mets can go during this most pivotal of offseasons for their beleaguered GM Omar Minaya. Let’s start with one of the team’s veteran leaders, the leader of a team that has failed to deliver in the clutch during the past two seasons: Carlos Delgado.

As much respect as I have for Delgado for essentially carrying this team on his back for the better part of the second half, I can’t help but to assume that he has a prominent influence over the mood in the Mets’ clubhouse.

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